RICK KENNEDY ISSUES VETERAN AFFAIRS STATEMENT: To Honor The Fallen, We Serve The Living

RICK KENNEDY ISSUES VETERAN AFFAIRS STATEMENT: To Honor The Fallen, We Serve The Living

AUSTIN,TX, May 22, 2020 – This Memorial Day weekend, Rick Kennedy, Democratic candidate for US House TX17, issued his statement on Veteran Affairs:

My dad was a World War II veteran. He was injured in training towards the end of the war, an injury that ended his military career and that he never fully recovered from. He bore that injury with dignity, and no small amount of pain, for the rest of his life.

As a child growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, I not only had the privilege of my father’s experience, but through him was exposed to so many of The Greatest Generation who had served in World War II and Korea, who had a future vision and a capacity for shared sacrifice that, in the midst of our current crisis, our leadership is unable to inspire in later generations.

Our commitment to our military service men and women, and their families, must last their lifetime. By supporting our veterans, we not only bolster our military, but we also enable them to fully contribute to our economy and our society on their return to civilian life.

To that end, I will:

Oppose efforts to privatize the Veterans Affairs department – many of the services veterans require are specific to their service and best served by a veteran-centric organization

Improve timeliness and quality of services provided by the Veterans Health Administration by streamlining access through use of technology and flexible service delivery options, no matter where veterans may live

Assure access to a full range of mental health services to end the epidemic of veteran suicides

Ensure that military spouses have access to educational opportunities and employment support and that children of military families have access to quality education

Wherever possible, redefine VA metrics to focus on successful outcomes for our veterans rather than sheer number of veterans served and volume of services delivered.

Rick Kennedy is a software engineer who lives in Austin. He challenged Bill Flores in 2018 and now campaigns in 2020 for the soon-to-be vacated US House TX17 seat. The 17th includes Brazos, Burleson, Falls, Freestone, Limestone, McLennan, Milam, and Robertson counties; also portions of Bastrop, Lee, Leon, and Travis counties. Rick Kennedy topped the field in the March 3 Democratic primary with 48% of votes cast.

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If you would like more information about Rick Kennedy or to schedule an interview, please call Debi Bryant at 254-859-0684 or email debi@rickkennedyforcongress.com.